Community Independence Day Celebration raises over $50,000 to support the youth of New Waverly
New Waverly's hometown Independence Day Celebration has been characterized as something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, but there's more to it than just food, fun and fireworks.
Now in its 4th decade, the event started out as a way to support the New Waverly Fire Department, raising almost $4400 in its first year.
Over the years it has become a community tradition where friends catch up with each other over a BBQ lunch and then compete against each other in a live auction, before heading out to their favorite viewing spot for the fireworks show.
In recent years, firefighters have partnered with the New Waverly 4-H Community Club and all the day's proceeds now go to support the youth of New Waverly.
4-H Club members served BBQ lunches to over 500 area residents on July 4th
Over 500 residents attended this year's BBQ lunch and many stayed to participate in the live auction or bought raffle tickets for a chance to win prizes donated by local businesses and community members.
Thursday evening, huge crowds began to gather all around town in anticipation of the always popular fireworks show. For many years, New Waverly Firefighters set up the displays and shot the show by hand, moving quickly from one effect to another. While the shows never disappointed, a partnership with locally owned EO Fireworks has taken it to the next level. Each year since, EO Fireworks has wowed the community with one of the best fireworks displays in our area.
"We are incredibly grateful to the New Waverly community for coming out and supporting our July 4th celebration fundraiser", said Joshua Slott, organizer of the event. The funds raised will make a real difference in the lives of the children in our community who participate in 4-H programs. All the kids have been working for a long time on an arena for meetings, prospect shows and educational activities. The community club has been floored by the support of the community and are getting closer to that goal.
All told, the day's events raised $51,292 for the Community 4-H Club. Construction on the South Walker County Arena is set to begin in the next two months.
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